Tonight's stargazing conditions scored 0–100 for cities across Africa — from Cape Town and Marrakech to Nairobi and Cairo. Find the clearest skies near you, then open the full forecast.
Africa offers exceptional stargazing, from the Saharan desert skies of the north to the high-altitude southern-hemisphere observing of South Africa. ClearSkys scores each location below for tonight using cloud cover, moon phase, wind and humidity. The continent hosts major professional facilities including SALT in the South African Karoo, and the dry deserts — the Sahara to the north, the Karoo to the south — deliver some of the clearest, darkest skies accessible anywhere. Equatorial cities like Nairobi can see both celestial hemispheres.
The South African Karoo (home to the SALT observatory near Sutherland) and the Sahara Desert edge offer pristine Bortle 1-2 skies. Morocco's High Atlas and the deserts of Namibia are also world-renowned dark-sky destinations.
Yes — southern Africa offers spectacular views of the galactic centre passing overhead, and the dry deserts north and south provide some of the clearest skies on Earth. The Magellanic Clouds are visible from the southern half of the continent.
It varies by region. Southern Africa's dry winter (May-September) is excellent. The Sahara and North African deserts are clear for most of the year. Equatorial regions have consistent 12-hour nights with seasonal dry windows.